How to Add the Mouth to a Cartoon Character

Making your own cartoon character allows you to exercise your creativity and practice your drawing skills. Whether your cartoon character is a caricature of someone you know or a super hero you imagine, he needs facial features, including a mouth. Below are some tips on how to draw the perfect mouth for your cartoon creation.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Decide what expression you want the mouth to have. If your character is happy, for instance, you'll want to draw a big smile. Anger can be represented by a short line turned down on one side or, sometimes, even fangs.

2. Add elements of your cartoon character's personality to the mouth. A sophisticated cartoon woman might get big lips, while a kid may get none. Things like lipstick, piercings and teeth are important details.

3. Draw the cartoon character's mouth out with a pencil first. This allows you to try out multiple mouths and expressions.

4. Size your cartoon mouth correctly. A proportionate mouth should extend from the center of one eye's pupil to the other, but over or under-sizing a cartoon character's mouth is a great way to show expression.

5. Emphasize the mouth with a shadow on the chin or dimples. Drawing in details like this makes a cartoon mouth look more realistic.

Tips & Warnings

• If you draw a wide open mouth, don't forget to include the tongue.